Virat Kohli had a stupendous 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season as he has the Orange Cap with 741 runs from 15 matches at an average of 61.75 and a strike rate of 154.69.
Sunil Gavaskar had questioned Kohli’s approach in the early part of the tournament and the champion batter responded with a barrage of runs at an impressive strike rate.
For someone who has played with and against Kohli for years, AB de Villiers has seen from close quarters how the Indian star deals with criticism.
“Yeah, I enjoyed that,” ABD said during a select media interaction arranged by JioCinema on Wednesday when asked about the constant debate over Kohli’s strike rate over the course of the season.
“I thought it was… really bad for someone like that for a hero and a role model of the country to get so much criticism around that. But the way I know him, I just knew and that’s exactly what I mentioned on my show. I said, guys, you have no idea what happens to this guy when he catches criticism.
“The many years I’ve played against him, I used to tell the players in the team room, you do not say one word to Virat on the pitch because he will come out and he will score a big 100 if you try and chirp him.
“So maybe it was a blessing in disguise, getting a bit of criticism, because stuff like that motivates him so much. And maybe someone should come out just before this game tonight and say something bad to him. I’m praying for that,” he had said ahead of the Eliminator against Rajasthan Royals, which RCB ended up losing.
When the team is down and out, a player like Kohli can play a huge role in lifting the spirits and that is exactly what he did, said De Villiers. There was never a drop in Kohli’s intensity even when the team was losing game after game.
“It just shows the kind of care that he has for the team and the desire to ultimately go and win a trophy. And when you’re down and out like that with one out of eight wins, to still see that as a teammate, from a teammate’s point of view, to see that in one of your senior players who’s achieved everything in cricket. I mean, he’s one of the greats of all time.
“And you see someone like that and celebrating on the field after we’ve done just one out of eight. That’s got to be incredibly motivational, inspirational to say the least.
“And I think he played a huge role in lifting that team and getting them back on track purely by his attitude and by his fielding prowess and the way he threw himself around on the field, the run-outs he got, the celebrations, the tapping on the shoulders of some of the young players and celebrating other people’s success. That ultimately is a selfless act,” he added.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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